San Francisco Giants beat Atlanta Braves 5-1

SAN FRANCISCO -- The numbers and opposing lineup say Sunday's start might have been Tim Lincecum's best in well over a year.

Lincecum threw seven shutout innings in a 5-1 Giants win over the Atlanta Braves, giving up just two hits and striking out seven. It was just the third time in Lincecum's career that he has gone at least seven shutout innings and given up fewer than three hits, and the first time since August 13, 2011.

Lincecum has scattered strong starts over the past year, but none of those opponents could match the Braves, who have hit the most homers in the league but couldn't even manage an extra-base hit against Lincecum on a day when balls were flying out of AT&T Park.

San Francisco Giants' Gregor Blanco, left, is tagged out at home plate by Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, May 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
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Tony Avelar
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"The misses were good misses," Lincecum said. "And the pitches they hit were good pitcher's pitches."

There were few hard-hit balls and three walks that Lincecum easily worked around. Sunday marked the third time in eight starts that Lincecum hasn't allowed an earned run, something he did just four times all of last season.

Lincecum has walked away from enough rough outings over the past year to know better than to celebrate a great one.

"I'm not jumping up in the air right now," he said, smiling.

But in a Giants clubhouse that was celebrating a third straight dominant win over one of the National League's best teams, the Giants were eager to heap praise on their two-time Cy Young Award winner.

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"He was good, really good," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He kept the ball down and made great pitches with two strikes. He had great focus, and that's when he's at his best, when he is concentrating on every pitch."

What was working for Lincecum on Sunday?

"Really, everything," catcher Buster Posey said. "He was able to throw to both sides and throw off-speed pitches out of the zone at the right time and for strikes at the right time. He's been throwing the ball pretty well."

Lincecum volleyed the praise right back, saying he was able to settle in thanks to five early runs from a lineup that got hits from seven of the eight position players and homers from three of them.

Brandon Belt got the scoring started with a solo homer to left-center in the second inning, a shot Bochy said reminded him of the balls Belt hit during his torrid spring.

"You want to take pitches on the outer half and hit them hard to left-center," Belt said. "That's what I've done my whole career. That's definitely a good sign."

The good vibes kept coming. Pablo Sandoval crushed a ball into McCovey Cove to make it 2-0 in the third, and Marco Scutaro hit a solo homer in the fifth. It was Scutaro's first homer and extended his hitting streak to an MLB-best 12 games.

"I feel healthy," said Scutaro, who dealt with back problems for much of April. "My back feels good, and it makes me able to stay back and wait for the ball."

Brandon Crawford and Gregor Blanco added run-scoring hits for the Giants, who outscored the Braves 23-4 while winning the final three games of the series.

"The last three games are some of the better baseball that we've played," Posey said.

As usual, it started with the starting pitching. Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner combined to throw 22 innings during the three-game run, giving up just three runs on nine hits and striking out 25.

Lincecum said the starters have talked about what needed to be done after a slow start for the staff.

"It's one of those things where we kind of kicked each other in the ass," Lincecum said. "It's: 'Let's step it up.' "

Lincecum did so in a big way Sunday. The Braves had an infield single and a walk in a 25-pitch first inning but never seriously threatened. Lincecum retired 13 of the final 14 hitters he faced and looked just as strong on his 111th pitch as he did on his first. It was the second straight start that Lincecum, who struggled with stamina a year ago, threw at least 111 pitches.

"It's getting back some of the work you did off the field," Lincecum said. "This is the start of hopefully something good."